


die for you

by johnwick



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Crack, Fluff, M/M, basically bbh trying to get himself killed so he could meet the grim reaper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 17:49:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15823914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnwick/pseuds/johnwick
Summary: the last thing baekhyun expects is to fall in love with the grim reaper. a very chatty grim reaper.





	die for you

**Author's Note:**

> this one is for my all my followers on twitter!!!! here's the wip you guys wanted revived! sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting (it's really not what i was expecting either). but i hope you enjoy it anyway? 
> 
> love you!!
> 
> biggest thanks to julesy

the first time baekhyun falls in love is when he’s fallen headfirst down a garbage chute, in the complete and unintentional fashion of starwars: a new hope. it’s just when he’s teetering on the edge of reality and ‘is that the light?’, right after he’s hit his head on something blunt (but thankfully cushiony), that he sees him.

 

the fucking grim reaper.

 

“ _god_ , you smell like shit,” is the first thing that's said to him. baekhyun just continues to blink away the very strong desire to slip into the dark nothingness that's threatening to engulf him.

 

“am i fucking dead?” he vaguely registers himself murmuring.

 

“yeah, you might be,” the grim reaper examines his very briefly, clicks his tongue and shrugs. a silence follows, kind of tense on baekhyun's end (probably because he's trying not to fucking die, if he hasn’t already), and a bit airy from the grim reaper. a little like he's trying not to die himself. "i'm kidding, you're just almost dead... ish. like... you look like you could die at any given moment. i don't know. i guess that’s up to me to decide isn’t it? i could keep you alive i guess? what do you think?"

 

baekhyun just growls in the back of his throat. everything _hurts_. "are you the grim reaper or something."

 

"yeah, i might be."

 

baekhyun has enough energy to let his eyes roll, and he's about to just embrace the darkness once and for all when the "grim reaper" hums in his throat, a low sound like he's thinking hard. before he knows what's happening, the dark figure is all up in his face.

 

"what-"

 

"shh, the more you speak, the more you smell," he murmurs.

 

and that's when everything becomes clear to baekhyun, that's when he first falls in love. almost like the clouds have parted to reveal a bright, sunny sky, the grim reaper's hood falls down involuntarily, just sitting atop his shoulders as he inadvertently unveils his face to him. baekhyun is already gasping for air in the dumpster, and now with the lack of personal space, but he feels his breath hitch and his heart pound along with the throbbing in his head when the most beautiful face he has ever seen is revealed to him.

 

"wow," he breathes out.

 

"what should i do with you?" the grim reaper muses. baekhyun just gets ignored, and at this point, he’s covered in dirt, blood, and someone's old lunch so he couldn’t really care less. grim reaper title be damned, the most angelic looking man in the entire universe is inches away from him, breathing cool air at his face.  "should i let you live? or take you with me?"

 

if baekhyun thought his face was the most beautiful thing in the world, the sound of his rich voice coming out from those _sensuous_ lips, makes baekhyun shiver right down to his bones.

 

he has found true love, he is sure of it.

 

"oh my god," baekhyun tries to sit up and only ends up coughing, nearly bumping heads with sexy grim reaper. his vision blurs but he just continues to blurt out, "take me with you. _please_."

 

the figure leans back a little, somehow managing to squat on top of the pile of garbage and balance perfectly. he looks taken-aback, and takes a moment to think in silence, before saying: "i think i would rather not, at this stage."

 

"what? why not?"

 

baekhyun's head is spinning. his senses finally start to fill up with the horrendous smell of the garbage dump he's crash landed into. his eyes start to blur with tears and he can’t differentiate between the pounding in his head, the blood rushing in his ears, and his rapidly beating heart. it all becomes a bit too overwhelming, so he tries to hang on to the image of sexy grim reaper squatting in front of him, examining baekhyun like he's lying on top of an operation table and not a mountain of trash.

 

"you're kind of annoying. i mean i don't know you that well i guess, but... you kind of have that _vibe_ you know?" he gestures with his hand and offers him a thin-lipped smile as if he didn’t just insult his entire being based on first impressions. he’s also a bit ramble-y, baekhyun observes. "and also, if you die now, you're going to smell this bad for the rest. of. eternity. and i _cannot_ deal with _that_."

 

"what the fuck?"

 

“junmyeon and jongdae are going to clown me. _forever_ ,” he goes on, mostly to himself. “they won’t let me live in peace! last time it was because i brought a guy who drowned in the sewer. i don’t want a repeat of that again, i already have my hands full with sewer-won - that’s not his real name, that’s just what we call him now - _hey_! are you even listening to me anymore?”

 

“you’re beautiful.”

 

“umm,” baekhyun gets a suspicious glare in return. “were you listening to me at all?”

 

“yes?”

 

“well,” sexy grim reaper starts again, terse. “then you should know i can’t take you today. purgatory is closed. sorry, bro."

 

"don't call me _'bro'_ , i'm in love with you."

 

the grim reaper rolls his eyes, and moves to get up.

 

"sure you are. you're just concussed and confused." he nods thoughtfully and then whispers the next part to himself, “that sounds like a cool name for a band. no, a band? in hell? that’s ridiculous.”

 

baekhyun pouts. why is he being told he’s confused? he's sure he's never been this sure in his life.

 

sexy grim reaper turns to look down at him again. his gaze tells baekhyun that he’s still suspicious. though he’s not sure why. it’s not like it’s _baekhyun_ who has the power to take lives on a whim.

 

"how did you even end up down here? this is like, the worst way you could die."

 

baekhyun just shrugs. sexy grim reaper sighs.

 

"what's your name," baekhyun can hear himself asking. "i can't keep calling you sexy grim reaper inside my head."

 

sexy grim reaper smiles again, tight-lipped and nose flared. he looks kind of funny, with his cape fluttering around his ankles a little bit. _but still really hot_ baekhyun’s useless brain supplies.

 

"i guess there's no harm in telling you. who's gonna believe you anyway." he shrugs to himself, and finally concedes. "it's kyungsoo."

 

_kyungsoo..._

 

and that's when baekhyun passes out.

 

 

 

 

 

it's been at least a full three months since baekhyun almost died, had a whole conversation with the fucking grim reaper, learned that the grim reaper is a hottie named kyungsoo, and yes, fell in love.

 

"i need to almost die again," baekhyun exclaims into his vanilla latte.

 

"you're ridiculous," his friend and designated dude-bro of his friendship group, chanyeol, states in the most uninterested voice he could muster. or maybe he really was uninterested, too focused on texting back *heart eyes emoji* **jongin** *kissing emoji* *peach emoji*.

 

"i'm not ridiculous, i'm just... in love."

 

"how hard did you fucking hit your head when you fell?"

 

"that's not important," baekhyun murmurs. it _was_ quite hard, baekhyun was on bed rest for two days. "the important thing here is that i fell in love."

 

"uh, no. i think the important thing here would be that you fucking fell down a garbage chute like a dumbass and almost died. it's a miracle that you didn't,” chanyeol says without raising his eyes from his phone, probably moved on to texting back *heart eyes emoji* **sehun** *kissing emoji* *eggplant emoji*.

 

baekhyun rolls his eyes and sips his latte. "that wasn't a miracle, chanyeol. that was the grim reaper sparing me from smelling terrible for all of eternity. he cares about me. obviously."

 

baekhyun gets a dreamy look in his eyes before getting lost in thoughts of how he can die but not die.

 

“i think he loves me back.”

 

chanyeol shakes his head. "you have officially lost it."

 

 

 

 

the second time baekhyun meets kyungsoo, they’re both floating. except kyungsoo has his feet planted firmly on the shallow waves, almost like he was levitating. baekhyun on the other hand, struggles to keep his head above the surface.

 

“oh,” kyungsoo exclaims. there’s something other than recognition in his voice. baekhyun notes that it’s one part surprise, and one part disappointment. “it’s you again. hi there.”

 

“hey,” baekhyun gasps. he’s trying to stay afloat and trying to keep his eyes open at the same time.

 

“did you know you couldn’t swim before you dived into this,” kyungsoo groans as he looks around, “ugh, this sewer? are you fucking kidding me?”

 

baekhyun gargles.

 

“okay stop, stop, stop. that’s super disgusting. i’m getting you out.”

 

baekhyun doesn’t know how he did it, but one moment he’s flapping his legs and waving his arms with a mouth full of nasty sewer water, and the next he’s sitting up with his back against a crate and coughing his lungs out.

 

“do you have to smell so bad every time i see you?”

 

baekhyun wipes his eyes and looks up at his saviour. it’s hard to see him, there’s a halo of light around his head, but baekhyun can just make out the angry frown on his beautiful features.

 

“kyungsoo,” he gasps.

 

“oh god, you remembered my name.”

 

“how could i,” he coughs, “how could i ever forget?”

 

“i shouldn’t have told you,” kyungsoo mutters, frantically shaking his head. he begins to pace in front of baekhyun while the latter tries to catch his breath. “i didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to land yourself in hot water again. well, sewer water, this time. and god, if i had let you die junmyeon and jongdae wouldn’t have let me _live_! i can’t have them call me ‘kyungsewer’ _again_ , why did i even tell this kid anything about me-”

 

“hey,” baekhyun interrupts the panicked spiel. kyungsoo just stops his pacing to look at him with wide eyes and a thumb between his teeth. he’s so adorable and baekhyun’s insides just _melt_. and he forgets to keep going.

 

“yeah? what?”

 

“uhh. nothing. you’re just really beautiful.”

 

“what?” kyungsoo looks around him. “very funny. get up, and go home.”

 

“no, i told you,” baekhyun gasps. he tries to get up, pushing his whole body up against the crate, but he’s still very weak. his eyes are threatening to close. “i’m in love with you.”

 

he passes out again.

 

 

 

 

baekhyun wakes up a few _days_ later, according to chanyeol,  tucked in his bed with clean clothes on. he’s not sure how he got here. the last thing he remembered was the grim reaper, in his signature cloak with his signature frown looking down at him.

 

this is the second time it’s happened to him now, and he wants to know who he’s got to thank. it's only when he's got halfway through his day, running a few errands and copying down notes he missed from the classes he missed, did he notice the note that was scraped into his bedside table, next to the cold cup of tea. it read:

 

 _“please stop_ fucking _dying. i’m tired of saving your ass and doing your laundry.”_

 

baekhyun smiles giddily.

 

 

 

 

 

“seriously. do you not have any reading comprehensions skills?” kyungsoo looks really unimpressed with his hands on his hips. he’s ditched the cloak today, but he’s still in all black. black turtleneck and black pants is all baekhyun sees from his vantage point. “stop trying to die just to see me. that’s just sad, kid.”

 

“don’t call me _kid_ , i’m trying to win your heart.” baekhyun croaks loudly from the hospital bed.

 

kyungsoo sighs.

 

"what did you do this time? i had to resuscitate you when your heart gave out," kyungsoo pauses for a second, flipping through the hospital notepad that's attached to the end of his bed, "walking right into oncoming traffic on a busy freeway, baek? really?"

 

"hey, we're on nickname basis? amazing!"

 

"no- _no!_ that is not what you're taking from this." kyungsoo glowers at him.

 

baekhyun thinks he might be trying to look threatening, what with the dark clothing, dark aura and the scythe leaning against the wall in the background. all baekhyun can see is the resemblance to a puppy. just like chanyeol’s puppy when he gets grumpy.

 

"you can't just keep trying to die and hope i save your ass every time. that's not how this works. i’m only supposed to come fetch you when i want-”

 

kyungsoo’s voice falters when an electronic buzzing sounds throughout the room. they make awkward eye contact as baekhyun adjusts the incline in his bed with the remote. _i just want to be able to see kyungsoo better_ , he thinks.   

 

“-you to be dead."

 

baekhyun gives him a look.

 

“then why are you here? how come you always come ‘fetch me’ when i’m on the brink of dying, only to stop me from dying? why won’t you just let me die?” he hopes his voice conveys his pout because pouting is next to impossible for him at this stage, with all his injuries. "and. i just... maybe... wanted to see you..."

 

kyungsoo sighs again, and plops down on to the chair in front of him. maybe he asked him too many hard questions.

 

when baekhyun thinks he isn't going to respond to him, he just continues, "you're really the prettiest guy i have ever seen you know?"

 

"really?" kyungsoo looks up at him shyly. then, almost like a sudden shock of electricity passes through him, kyungsoo shakes his head, "no- no. wait. i mean, okay, fine i’ll accept your compliment but you can't just keep trying to die so you can meet me."

 

"but how else would i meet you?" baekhyun pouts for real this time, wincing right after with instant regret. he’s so glad he’s jacked up on pain meds right now, otherwise this conversation would go a lot differently.

 

kyungsoo thinks for a moment before responding. "we're just not meant to be."

 

baekhyun braves the pain and full on pouts. kyungsoo drops his eyes to a squint, as a glare of disapproval.

 

"you're just,” baekhyun pauses for a dramatic intake of air, “to _die_ for, kyungsoo."

 

"cheesy," kyungsoo blushes. he goes back to frowning so quick, baekhyun would have thought he imagined the redness in the other's cheeks. “but i’m serious. stop trying to die. it’s hard work.”

 

“you don’t want to spend the rest of eternity with me?”

 

kyungsoo looks affronted.

 

“i barely even _know_ you. and you barely know _me_.”

 

“i _do_ know you,” baekhyun chirps. in his excitement, he tries to sit up, but all his abdominal injuries get in the way. “i know there’s someone called junmyeon and jongdae who always try to embarrass you, and you’re just trying to prove yourself to them. and i know you worry a lot about what they think of you and wanna do a good job.”

 

baekhyun pauses, and kyungsoo coughs.

 

“which might be why i, uhh, didn’t try to die in a really gross place this time. but anyway...”

 

“wait, really?”

 

“yeah.” baekhyun grimaces (smiling is hard). “and you can’t say you barely know me when you rearranged the brushes on my desk just the way i liked it, and left a cup of tea for me.”

 

“everyone likes tea,” kyungsoo grumbles.

 

“i _love_ tea. but i didn’t have any in my house.” baekhyun smiles. it’s a lazy smile. he feels calm and happy, and his eyes are becoming droopy.

 

there’s a long moment when neither of them say anything, and the room is filled with the steady beeping from the equipment around them. baekhyun watches kyungsoo earnestly. he’s not pacing this time but baekhyun can still tell that he’s nervous. baekhyun’s eyes start to glass over. finally, kyungsoo breaks the silence.

 

“i don’t know what you expect me to say,” he shrugs. it’s a small shrug and it’s so cute. it makes him look small and lost. “i’m the grim reaper. how do you think that’s gonna work?”

 

“i don’t know,” baekhyun closes his eyes. “i just want to be with you.”

 

 

 

 

 

it’s been a month or so now since he was discharged from hospital. baekhyun limps down the hallway, crutches under his arms, now used to doing his household chores with his casts (yes, multiple) still on. he has so many regrets, and most of them revolve around blacking out whenever he meets kyungsoo.

 

it’s part of his routine now. to figure out how to summon kyungsoo without getting himself killed. and it's a good thing no one can say no to someone who got hit by a bus, since baekhyun has been getting chanyeol to pay several visits to the ‘haunted bookshop’ so he could research about kyungsoo better. to his dismay, there’s hardly anything on there about grim reapers.

 

he’s leaning against his kitchen counter, deep in thought, when a voice calls out from behind him, “hi!”

 

baekhyun startles and his drops his crutches.

 

“oh, sorry,” kyungsoo stumbles forward and picks up the fallen crutches. baekhyun is still staring at him with wide eyed disbelief. he pokes kyungsoo in the arm. “ow!”

 

“sorry! sorry…” baekhyun exhales. “you’re real? you’re really here? why?”

 

he looks down at himself in a panic. he didn’t accidentally stab himself without realising, did he? he’s not internally bleeding is he? he’s actually been quite careful this time, looking out for sharp edges and not getting his casts wet when he showers.

 

“no, i’m really here,” kyungsoo clears his throat. “and no, you’re not dying.”

 

“then...?”

 

kyungsoo clears his throat. it’s a little weird seeing kyungsoo during the day, but it’s a good sort of weird that baekhyun would love to get used to. he’s still in black, of course, but he’s wearing casual streetwear this time. nike has never looked this good on anyone.

 

but more importantly, kyungsoo looks like he absolutely belongs in baekhyun’s home. the last rays of sunshine streaming through his kitchen window gives kyungsoo a warm glow, and he looks so homely standing there without any of his grim reaper gear.  

 

“i’ve put a lot of thought and gone through a huge journey of self-discovery,” kyungsoo starts, and baekhyun snaps out of it. he didn’t even notice kyungsoo get close, they’re both leaning their weight against the counter now. he realises that kyungsoo is waiting for him to reply, and make sure he’s actually listening.

 

“okay…”

 

kyungsoo smiles in satisfaction, and continues, “and maybe along the way, i had several million internal debates and came to the conclusion that it might be really selfish of me to bring you with me to _hell_ , just because i like you-”

 

“you _like_ me?”

 

“please don’t interrupt.”

 

baekhyun mimes zipping his lips lock and throwing the key away as best as he could with his constricted arm. it pulls a laugh out of kyungsoo. a sweet, melodic laugh.

 

“anyway as i was saying, you have a lot of potential on earth.” kyungsoo pulls out a crumpled piece of paper as he says this. he straightens it and stares at it, and baekhyun is almost convinced it’s a speech he’s written out in advance. “you need to stay here and live your life to the fullest. you’re a really talented artist.”

 

kyungsoo shows him the paper. it’s one of baekhyun’s random watercolour doodles. there’s nothing special about it, just abstract splashes of colour and the vague outline of a horse. he didn’t know how or why kyungsoo had that.

 

“i took this back with me the first time i dropped you home. god, junmyeon and jongdae have been making fun of me since.” kyungsoo scowls. then he puts his hands on his hips and mimics in a high pitched voice, “ _what kind of grim reaper collects_ art _? you’re not grimcent van gogh!_ god, they’re so annoying.”

 

baekhyun has to laugh. what a weird situation to be in. baekhyun never thought he’d meet the grim reaper, let alone have him be one of the chattiest, most animated people he has ever encountered. even then, he doesn’t think he’s met anyone like kyungsoo in his life, grim reaper or not.

 

but then he registers what kyungsoo has actually been saying.

 

“wait so, you like me?” baekhyun exhales, “and you know i like you but if i stay here, we can’t be together.”

 

kyungsoo fumbles with his words, as if he’s been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. “okay, okay, okay. fine. so maybe i haven’t been completely truthful to you.”

 

“what do you mean?” baekhyun pouts. “you don’t actually like me?”

 

“no, no i do! i do- it’s just that- god, how do i say this?” kyungsoo purses his lips and baekhyun is all the more confused. “maybe i’m not really a ‘ _grim reaper’_ , grim reaper.”

 

when baekhyun doesn’t look enlightened at all, kyungsoo just keeps going.

 

“i’m a grim reaper in training?” he offers. he gets a raised eyebrow in question. “i’m not the only grim reaper, i’m kind of being trained by my supervisors, junmyeon and jongdae. and well, so far, i’ve managed to screw up so many times. like, _so_ many times. i don't know if you've noticed but i'm really fucking terrible at this. i always bring back the worst kinds of people, people who weren’t supposed to die, people who died in the-”

 

“wait, wait, wait.” baekhyun cuts him off. “you’re a what?”

 

“please don’t interrupt.” kyungsoo smiles this time as he says it, obviously excited.

 

baekhyun shuts up.

 

“i’m terrible at my job. i’m the actual worst,” kyungsoo’s smile gets bigger. it’s the prettiest thing baekhyun’s ever seen. “and maybe, i could convince junmyeon and jongdae that i should stay here and _‘train’_ and get better at bringing dead people back home.”

 

baekhyun’s heart stills for a moment. he’s not saying what he thinks he’s saying, right? he has to be sure.

 

“what are you saying?”

 

“i’m saying,” kyungsoo slides a little along the counter so he’s closer to him, “that you better be a good kisser.”

 

baekhyun laughs in disbelief.

 

“i am. but it might be a bit hard to kiss you with this neck brace.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> and then they keesed
> 
> also heyoo here's [my twitter](https://twitter.com/kjdonly) if you wanna follow c: and my friend jules and i have a chankai sns au which you can read [here](https://twitter.com/exotextaus/status/1024443581577064448)! have fuuuuuuuuun!


End file.
